The Lynn Valley Literary Society was proud to be a part of Lisa Voisin's book launch for her second novel, The Angel Killer, held at the Lynn Valley Community room on January 31st, 2015.

Author and LVLS board member, Lynn Crymble was the MC for the evening and had the crowd in stitches with her lively introduction. Lisa Voisin gave a reading from The Angel Killer and stayed for a Q&A session with the audience. There was even an angel in costume giving angel readings.

The room was packed with members of the local literary community as well as members of the Young Writer's Club.

Local photographer, Mark Teasdale took some photos and produced a video of the event.

This week, I had the enormous pleasure of leading my first session with the Young Writer’s Group in Lynn Valley. It was a lively session filled with talent young writers from ages 11-17. We started our session with some writing prompts, and then I led them to an exercise on description, which I borrowed from a fun book I discovered in San Francisco, called Don’t Forget to Write! from the group at 826 Valencia street. This exercise was on description (and I’ve modified it slightly).I started the exercise describing the three different types of description:1. Not-so-great: These are those descriptions that could be better. They’re fine in a first draft, but when it comes time to share your work with others, you should consider reworking them. They fall under one or two categories:

Clichés: These are phrases you’ve heard so many times, they’ve lost their value as dscriptions, such as: She ate like a bird. He looked like he’d seen a ghost. He was as strong as an ox. It was as hard as a diamond. For more information on clichés, read my post on them.

Clunky/Awkward: These are descriptions that the reader cannot follow: Her hair looked like mashed turnips, only brown. His car was like a caterpillar crossed with a Great white shark. Read more...

Congratulations, Genny Knowles!Genny, a member of the Young Writers' Club of North Vancouver, won first prize in theFederation of BC Writers Young BC Writers Contest . The results haven't been posted to the BCFW's site yet but Genny received an email yesterday announcing the good news. Soon her story, Caitlyn's Book,should appear as the winner of the $400 scholarship. This was Genny's first competition and she is only in grade 8. She was competing against much older and more experienced writers.Talent & hard work were on her side.I’m sure this is the first of many writing achievements for Genny.***Photo from Wikimedia Commons: Congratulations Beach at Druidston Haven from a road alongside Hotel by Steve Sheppard

Good byes always make my throat ache.Because I have moved out of the area, this past week I led my last session of the Young Writers’ Club of North Vancouver.It was a lively two hours with lots of laughs and some moments of pure poetry.I’m going to miss you, young writers.Next month the amazing Lisa Voisin will be taking over and she’ll lead the club to new heights. As hard as it was for me to say good-bye, knowing Lisa is at the helm made it much easier.One era ends. Another dawns.Maggie Bolithowww.maggiebolitho.comPicture from Wikimedia Commons: Wreck Beach by Jennamayyy﻿

Laura Thomas Communications is hosting another short story competition for young writers. Here are some of the details:

Opens February 1, 2014Deadline June 30, 2014Finalists Announced September 20, 2014Winners Announced Live October 18, 2014 at the Junior Authors Writers Conference in Vancouver, Canada

Please read the rules and follow them carefully. If there is a tie for a prize, the winner will be the writer who did a better job following the rules.

Contest closes at midnight on June 30, 2014 (Pacific Standard Time)

FREE to enter

Details about the feedback option for the 2014 contest will be announced when the contest opens.

One story per person.

Story must be in English.

Contest is open to anyone between 9 and 21 years old as of June 30, 2014. Proof of age may be required.

It does not matter where you call home. Entries from every country are welcome.

Your story can be about anything you like. Be creative and have fun. We don’t judge on the subject of your story, just on how well you write it. But remember that it will be judged according to the criteria for a short story. This is not a contest for scripts, poems, essays or other genres of writing.

Maximum length: 1,000 words.

No images, illustrations or fancy fonts. Keep it easy to read. Not sure which font to use? Try Times New Roman 12 pt.

If you’re like me, you may find of the hardest parts ofbeing a writer is working alone. That’s just one of the reasons why the Junior Author-Writers Conference last weekend was successful. It brought together over seventy young writers between the ages of 9 and 18 in a friendly, affirming day of workshops and new writing challenges. Hosted by Laura Thomas, of Laura Thomas Communications, the conference was the first in a series to further the goal of fostering the development of young writers worldwide. I was invited to observe one of the workshops led by Darlene Foster, called Writing More Than You See.

Darlene read passages from different books to show how all five senses can be used to bring readers into the experience of the story. Then, she handed out photos and asked everyone to write a story about what happened just before and/or just after the pictures were taken. The stories from the conference participants were excellent. Other sessions were:Writing Effective Dialogue - Michelle BarkerHow to Write a Great Article and Get it Published - Deneka MichaudA Story to Learn, Tell and Share -Lois PetersonMove Your Body, Clear the Cobwebs - Jes von HenzkeIf You Were the Publisher - George Opacic

So it was a day of great variety and many chances to build new friendships. Held at the Sandman Signature Hotel in Richmond (a satellite suburb of Vancouver, Canada) the conference room was spacious and well-lit. The food looked delicious and the laughter that filled the air said everyone was having fun.

Want to build new friendships to help you grow as a writer? Then mark this day on your calendar: October 18, 2014. That’s the date of the next conference. ***Photo: Group of teenagers by Igor Mojze from dreamstime.

BONUS:Walk and Talk with Laura on Sunday, October 20th from 10 am to noon. This is only open to conference participants. You will join Laura for a stroll around Stanley Park and chat about writing. Private meeting location will be announced at the conference. Weather permitting.

About the Organizer Laura is a professional copywriter and ghostwriter with 20 years experience writing and editing fiction and non-fiction. She has been mentoring young writers in workshops, camps and courses since 2007. She has worked equally with homeschoolers and students in public and private schools, including those in gifted programs. Some of her students have gone on to have stories and poetry published in prestigious magazines like Stone Soup. She is also a mother with two young children and a professional children’s storyteller, who was storyteller in residence at Science World, Vancouver for 2012. Laura also has experience working with writers with special needs, including autism spectrum and ADHD. More recently Laura formed a communications company through which she fosters the development of young writers worldwide through contests, conferences, blogging, books, and educational resources. About the Conference The Junior Authors Conference is specially designed to recognize, affirm, inspire, and delight young writers ages 9 through 21.The workshops will be kept short. There will be lots of breaks, good food and opportunities to meet other young writers and some industry professionals. The workshops are interactive and fun.All presenters have experience working with children and youth and will deliver workshops that are appropriate for this age group.Please note that seating at the conference is limited.